Volkswagen Financial Services wins Daimler as new investor for their premium used-car platform heycar with Noerr’s assistance

Noerr has again advised Volkswagen Financial Services AG on a transaction. Europe’s largest automotive financial services provider has been able to secure Daimler's financial division as a partner and investor for their used-car platform heycar, which was launched with great success in October 2017. Daimler's financial engagement is taking place by way of a capital increase. On completion of the transaction, Daimler will hold a 20% stake in Mobility Trader Holding GmbH, which operates the heycar platform in the German market via its subsidiary Mobility Trader GmbH.

heycar was founded in October 2017 as a premium platform for trading pre-owned cars that is both brand-neutral and focuses on collaboration with authorised brand dealers. Over 1,000 dealer groups of various brands are currently represented on the platform at around 3,000 locations with more than 300,000 vehicles on offer.

The transaction is subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities.

Volkswagen Financial Services was advised comprehensively on this transaction by a Noerr team led by Felix Blobel and Ariane Neubauer. These Berlin partners already advised Volkswagen Financial Services in 2015 on the acquisition of a majority stake in sunhill technologies GmbH, a European pioneer for cashless mobile payment methods, in particular for parking, and in 2016/2017 on the acquisition of around 51 per cent of the shares in the fuel and services cards specialist LogPay Transport Services GmbH, a subsidiary of DVB Bank SE.

Advisors to Volkswagen Financial Services: Noerr LLP

Felix Blobel, Ariane Neubauer (joint team lead, Corporate), Dr Tobias Bosch (Digital Business), Dr Stefan Schwab (Employment), Hanno Schaper (Antitrust & Competition, all Berlin)

In-house counsel VWFS (Braunschweig): Dominic Lange (Legal Counsel)